What is low voter turnout costing us?

What is Low Voter Turnout Costing Us?

The Illinois Super Tuesday elections were a disappointment. At least they were for me. For those who voted for the winners, victory was no doubt sweet, but each of the political candidates whom I really wanted to win, lost. My only consolation is the fact that at least I know that I voted for each of my candidates and pulled some votes for them on Election Day. Why did they lose? One of the primary reasons that they suffered defeat is virtually identical to why a majority of businesses and people in the US are feeling the economic pinch: low voter turnout.

Take, for example, an attorney whom I know who ran for Circuit Court Judge. He won a number of wards in the city of Chicago. The problem was that only 20% of registered voters in each of those wards voted whereas the primary winner won the wards where over 50% of eligible voters voted. Had the voter turnout in those wards been 50% and the trend continued to go in his favor, the attorney I know would have won the election by a landslide. Wow! Low voter turnout costs the community representation in the most crucial area of government, the judicial bench.

This just doesn’t apply to politics, and it certainly isn’t a black versus white issue. Low voter turnout also costs in a bigger way. It immediately affects our pocketbooks. Small businesses provide over 50% of all jobs in the US, yet they often lack the capital to hire employees and expand production. What’s the reason for this? You guessed it: low voter turnout. People aren’t voting with dollars for the best candidates to hold office. Consumers may express a desire to support ________ (you fill in the blank). Inserted could be American businesses, small businesses, black-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, even charities.

But, not enough people are showing up to vote at the ballot box that matters most. The one that is open 365 days a year, every year, not every other year, the cash register, and it is costing us. It deprives the business owners of sales dollars and thus “working” capital which, in turn, costs the community potential new jobs and economic development. So, the point is that it’s not too late for your voice to be heard.

For a change that you can believe in, drag and pull your friends, family, and acquaintances with you to the only ballot box that matters in your community, the cash registers.

By voting at www.einsteinoffinance.com and letting his team help you manage your money you are nominating a visionary with practical yet innovative ideas that can potentially create millions of sustainable, good-paying jobs in your neighborhood and across the nation and globe.

Mr. Eric O. January is CPA, author of the Gainology Book Series, money manager and owner of Conduit Funding and Conduit Investment Advisors, LLC. He has been focused on helping clients get the most from their money and business interests for over a quarter of a century.